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Jo Stiles
Josephine 'Jo' Stiles (previously Sugden) is the ex-wife of Andy Sugden. Storylines Jo Stiles arrived in the village as new receptionist at the vets' surgery and is soon noticed by the local men, especially Max King and Danny Daggert. Jo and Danny went on a date but they agreed he was far too tame for a girl like her. So with no potential boyfriends on the scene, Jo settled into her job and moved into Connelton View with Dawn Woods and her son, TJ. After seeing chemistry between her new best mate, Dawn, and former flame Danny, Jo set them up but Dawn preferred to be single and dumped Danny. Jo's other attempt at matchmaking also went wrong when she tried to help her boss, Paddy Kirk, by inventing a chatroom girlfriend called Fireblade. It seemed like harmless fun until Paddy booked a ticket to Portugal to track Fireblade down. When Paddy returned with vivacious Toni Daggert (Danny's cousin) on his arm, Jo knew she wasn’t Fireblade and became desperate to stop her taking him for a ride. The joke, however, was on Jo. Paddy had guessed what she was up to and he and Toni were winding Jo up to pay her back. Jo was happy at Connelton View but trouble was on the horizon when Scott Windsor arrived. He tried to seduce Jo but she wasn't interested but Dawn thought something was going on. Although they sorted it out, Dawn's mum, Jean Hope, evicted Jo for rent arrears but Dawn felt guilty that her mum hadn't given Jo much notice and arranged for her to move into Butler's Farm with the Sugdens, knowing that they could use Jo's rent. Jo soon developed feelings for Andy Sugden and they had an affair and told Katie, ending the marriage after Katie said that her pregnancy was a false alarm. Following Katie's departure, Jo took over helping Andy run the farm and look after little Sarah. Jo carried on working at the vets' initially, but Hari Prasad sacked her as he didn't want Jo asking questions about the accounts as he was fiddling with invoices. Andy was pleased but Jo wasn't as she was dependent on him for money. Money was tight as Andy had paid for his and Katie's divorce so Jo started her own business, making organic goat's cheese. Andy and Jo got engaged, following his divorce and they discussed Jo adopting Sarah. Initially, she agreed as Debbie Dingle, Sarah's mother, told Andy she wouldn't oppose it but changed her mind after she and Jo shared looking after Sarah while Andy was in prison for the manslaughter of his adoptive mother, Sarah Sugden. Jo agreed to marry Andy while he was in prison, not wanting to disappoint him. While in prison, Andy made an enemy of Charlie Sellers. Charlie was released before Andy and took revenge by moving into Butlers' Farm, staying initially in the barn but soon moved into the house, threatening Andy and little Sarah every time Jo tried objecting. Desperate for help, Jo told Debbie and she wanted to remove Sarah but Jo wouldn't let her. Eventually Debbie and Chas Dingle got rid of Charlie by asking a favour from a contact of theirs, the McFarlanes, a criminal family known to the Dingles. Soon after Charlie's departure, Andy was released on appeal and immediately called Social Services about the adoption and learned that Debbie had not returned the papers. He confronted her, reminding her that she promised not to contest the adoption but she insisted she needed more time. Unhappy, he visited his solicitor to investigate court orders that would finalise the adoption but was told that that kind of court order was rarely granted in his circumstances. In April 2008, Terry Woods's son, T.J., was admitted to hospital with e coli and Environmental Health investigated all groceries bought by Terry, including Jo's goat cheese. The culprit was a local supermarket but Jo's business suffered and Andy insisted she sell the goats. About the same time, Debbie asked Jo for regular access to Sarah as Andy always refused. On Sarah's first visit to Debbie, Andy returned early and realised that Jo was lying about Sarah's whereabouts. He guessed that she was with Debbie and went to fetch her but Jo wouldn't let him leave. They ended up fighting and Jo got a nasty black eye. Andy and Jo were horrified and although Andy promised it would never happen again, it did. Andy sent Jo to hospital twice with broken bones. Sam Dingle and Jake Doland helped at the farm but Andy, not wanting witnesses, sacked them but not before Sam realised Andy was hitting Jo. Sam tried to tell his family but they didn't believe him, only believing him after seeing a picture Sarah drew of Andy and Jo. Debbie confronted Jo and Jo eventually admitted it so Debbie warned her if Sarah was harmed in any way, she would remove her. Terrified of another beating, Jo lied that she was pregnant. The lie continued for several weeks and Andy discovered the truth as Jo was about to leave. The situation was resolved after another fight and Andy was accidentally impaled on an old farm tool in the barn. Jo left him there but found Andy's brother, Daz, there when she returned and he called an ambulance. When Jo tried to tell her story, Andy claimed that Jo had been abusing him and everyone initially believed Andy, except Diane Sugden's sister, Val, who made Diane realise that Andy was lying. On his discharge from hospital, he moved into the Woolpack as Jo agreed not to call the police about the domestic violence, provided he leave her alone. His ex-wife, Katie, took pity on him, giving him a job at the stables and supervising his visits with Sarah, but after he verbally abused her for not allowing him to kiss her, she realised Jo was telling the truth. She visited Jo and, despite their differences, comforted her but warned her that she would only be free of Andy if she left the village. Jo ran the farm with help from her neighbours, the Naylors. Debbie and the Dingles helped to look after little Sarah but money got tighter and tighter and when the Kings lost everything, ownership of the farm reverted to the bank. Various items began to break and Andy would repair them. Jo was grateful until Lee Naylor saw Andy damaging the washing machine. A fight erupted and Jo realised that Andy was breaking and repairing appliances to win back her trust but she knew that he would never leave her alone when she lived on his farm with his daughter so on 22nd December, Jo and Lee sold the farm equipment so Jo and Sarah could leave. Just as Jo was about to leave, Mick Naylor arrived. Worried that he would tell Andy, she locked him in the barn but he begged her not to take Sarah. Jo and Sarah left, regardless, but Jo left Sarah with the Dingles and texted Lee, telling him where Mick was. The next day, she texted Andy telling him to go to the farm so he could see what she had done. In May 2009, while Andy and Debbie were fighting for residency of Sarah, Debbie's father, Cain Dingle, told social services about Andy's domestic abuse. Andy and Victoria denied it but Jo gave a statement about what Andy had done to her and knowing this, Andy dropped his claim for residency. Jo and Andy officially divorced that same year. Jo has not been mentioned in Emmerdale since apart from the rumour that she got engaged to her new boyfriend. See also *Full list of appearances Category:Emmerdale characters Category:1982 births Category:2008 departures Category:Sugden family Category:Barmaids Category:2008 marriages Category:2005 debuts Category:Receptionists Category:Farmers Category:Residents of Butlers Farm Category:Hopwood family